I could understand if it was 84 years ago and there weren’t any other film awards, but in 2012 we have so many different award shows that it seems silly to complain when one of them doesn’t meet your tastes. Some people prefer the BAFTA’s for their British sensibilities. Others follow the Golden Globes precisely because they offer up more comedy options. Lovers of independent cinema can track the film festivals and the FIPRESCI prizes, while those who can’t get enough of their teen heartthrobs have the MTV Movie Awards.
For fellow geeks like me, one of the most interesting awards is the Saturn Awards, sponsored by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. They’ve recently released their Saturn Award Nominations, and while I haven’t seen all of them, I have to agree that this is a pretty good list. Those who are angry about how this year’s Oscars turned out will be pleased to see that The Artist, The Help and The Iron Lady didn’t even make the cut.
Which leads me to wonder: If we know that each of these awards has their own tastes and follows their own trends, why do we get so upset that the Oscars do the same? Is it simply the prestige of it? If they changed their name to the Academy of Dramas and Biopics, would we still be as upset? Or, to be honest, if there was a new organization that was being formed today that called itself by the same name, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, wouldn’t we expect that they might pick exactly the type of films that they do now?
